Sangiovese Taste Off – Episode #439

April 8, 2008

Sangiovese is a grape that has thrived in Italy and we are seeing many California wineries take to the grape as well, who will win this battle ROYAL?

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Comments on this episode(223) Leave a comment ›

“Nice show. I have had a 3 case love affair with the 04 Casanova di ne…” by Tom
“Love the Mr. Wizard action going on! That kind of makes me want to go …” by Dessert Wine Nerd
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Wines tasted in this episode:

2006 Casanova Di Neri Rosso Di MontalcinoRosso di Montalcino
2005 Luna Napa SangioveseNapa Italian Varieties

223 Responses

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April 8, 2008

thefanjestic
Qotd – not really.

Interesting show – I liked the music……
April 8, 2008

Eric Skillestad
No Sangiovese, but I did enjoy a tasty Moosehead or two this evening with some pals. Tough to beat a Canadian Lager….
April 8, 2008

Jeremy L
QOTD: funny that you mention it. right now i am drinking a 2005 Foxen “Sangiovese Volpino”. 72% Sangiovese 28% Merlot. Rockin. Showing a lot of ripe raspberry, some cherries, and a little smoke. nice firm tannins and back end acidity give this wine a super tuscan feel. WELL WORTH $32!
April 8, 2008

zac weiss
I would really, REALLY be down for a lot more mixing on the show. I think I’m gonna start doing that! Like a really expensive (but TASTY!) chemistry set! I suggest you end every show attempting to get a 90 point hybrid from what you’ve tasted that day. YOU CAN DO IT!
April 8, 2008

Orville B
nope

jb
April 8, 2008

Jerry the 2thdr
How about mixing the 2 wines until you get them the way you like them,then put them in a gallon bottle marked GaryVee Xperimental. I’ll but the first gallon. Jerry the 2thdr&better half
April 8, 2008

Bundydb
It’s never a bad show. And you always bring the Thunder GV!! Even if the wines you review are not good you still teach us something about them. We learn about the varietal, where it’s from, alternate names, their usual flavor profiles etc… The list could go on and on.

Hope you all are having a great week!!!!

P.S. Thanks for the (sort of) Mississippi shout out, lol.
April 8, 2008

i can haz a shirt
that shirt is SO getting made.

http://tinyurl.com/3zmv2k
April 8, 2008

chefpaul
If you are in a position of mixing the wines, then you have probably already spent the money to have both wines, and I, like any responsible wine drinker, would hate to see them go to waste. So mix them up, and if it tastes good, then you have eight glasses to drink and share with your friends.
April 8, 2008

T. Holland
elron, my brother told me to try out St. Peter’s Oatmeal Stout. Said it is his all time fav stout. My local beer guy should have it in by the weekend. I love a good stout or any heavy beer for that matter, but I can’t wait to get back to wine, after we have the baby…
April 8, 2008

Caleb
Entertaining show, not bad at all.

QOTD: Not yet.
April 8, 2008

elron
T Holland, the Brooklyn Chocolate Stout is good!
April 8, 2008

T. Holland
GV, btw had a great wine last week at X20 in Yonkers that I would have never tried if not for your show: Rosso Piceno Superiore, Velenosi, â€œRoggio del Filareâ€, Marche, 1998. Absolutely awesome pomegranite flavor w/ sour cherry with great structure.
April 8, 2008

NB_SPAZZ
QOTD: tried 5 sangiovese over the summer and was 0 for 5. All too tannic with too little fruit or anything else to enjoy. Haven’t tried any from California, though. Figured I’d wait a while and see if my pal grows to appreciate sangiovese, but in the meantime when looking to Italy, I’ve been enjoying reds from Piedmonte.
And about the MOTTSTER’s SHIRT… I refer you to my comment on episode #431:
“Family, family, family. If GV says Mott is like family, then it is time to put the tee-shirt where the mouth is! Whereâ€™s the LINK IT UP MOTT shirt, already?”
April 8, 2008

barrelmonkey
QOTD: Never had one. Hope to soon.

The best part of the show for me was your brief smile when you started mixing. You didn’t score the blend! A very different show, and I liked it a lot. Way to think on your feet! (or chair).

Peace, man.
April 8, 2008

T. Holland
GV, even though the wines bombed today, your little blending experiment had me laughing out loud. You have said it before & should say it again, WINE IS FUN!

QOTD: Have not been drinking much of any wine lately (in respect of my preggy wine, aka, my wine drinking buddy). Have been drinking beer though- Brooklyn Chocolate Stout- soooo good!
April 8, 2008

dz
Love old school Italian Sangiovese, not the kind blended with Merlot to internationalize them but the kind with even a little white grape in them. I had the 01 or 02 Luna in a restaurant once because it had a 90 pt. score from Spectator, my reaction was exactly like yours, this wine is just wrong-no good. As far as blending goes, 10-15 years ago I liked to mix a cheap acidic Chianti from Trader Joe with a Napa Ridge cab, neither wine costing more than $5 and complementing each other nicely, at least I thought so at the time. Why is this wrong? I thought we were changing the wine world whether they liked it or not.
April 8, 2008

Robin C
QOTD: I love sangiovese but don’t drink it that often.
Too bad about Mott. Maybe a t-shirt with Mott and friends: A Mottley Crew.
April 8, 2008

*/^_^\*
excellent episode….these are the one’s where the most is learned (more from failures than successes or somesuchthing)

i give it a 8.76+/- 0.3
April 8, 2008

RnD
QOTD: I’ve had both the 2002 and 2003 Luna and thought they were pretty solid vintages. Maybe the 05 just isn’t ready for prime time.

Loved the wine mixing too, nice off the cuff touch to the show.
April 8, 2008

barrelmonkey
Hey Gary! I’m not done watching – so I can’t answer the QOTD yet, but I just tasted the Espelt Saulo ‘05 from Ep 402. I’ve been on a WLTV tasting roll lately – The Altos los Hormigas Bonarda, the 2006 Panarroz, the Tour de la Roque. And all three just rubbed me the wrong way. I respect your palate a TON, but man did I hate those three wines. The Espelt was just up my alley – nose that reminded me of right bank Bordeaux, dry palate with great concentration and excellent acid/fruit/tannin balance. One thing that surprised me was how long the balance lasted on the finish.

Having it with dinner now, and I’m really glad you had it on the show! Also, tasting along with the show really helped me to isolate those aromas. I picked up a lot of the same things you did!

Thanks, and take care.
-R
April 8, 2008

jseeds
Everyone gets “bad” wines sometimes…I bet in some corner of the world, someone out there loves each of those…

QOTD: Felsina Rancia 2004 – Most delicious Sangiovese I’ve had.
April 8, 2008

Rich
Great show today. I loved the mixing of the wines. Why not… Very entertaining and fun.
April 8, 2008

Phil G
QOTD – About 5-6 years ago I started drinking a lot of Sangiovese wines from Tuscany, eventually splurging to buy a couple Brunellos. Well, I started drinking other types of wine over the years, but I still have those bottles – maybe the time is coming to start tasting them…

Also, I recently had a bottle of Silverado Sangiovese from California that was oak city – pretty mediocre.
April 8, 2008

Anthony L.
Gary, I know you were disappointed, but I love this show. Very cool to see you mix it up….Love the honest opinions.